• Joan Martí-Fàbregas, Roberto Belvís, Esteve Guàrdia, Dolores Cocho, and Josep-Lluis Martí-Vilalta.
• Department of Neurology, Cerebrovascular Unit, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.
• AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2005 Jan 1;26(1):113-8.

Background And PurposeIt would be useful to have a noninvasive test for correlation with CT findings in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We determined which transcranial Doppler (TCD) variables are related to which CT data in patients with ICH.MethodsWe prospectively included 51 patients (age +/- SD, 66.2 +/- 12.4 years; 30 men, 21 women) with first-ever supratentorial, nontraumatic ICH. CT and TCD examination were performed in the acute stage (less than 12 hours from symptom onset). TCD recordings were obtained from the middle cerebral arteries, and the following variables were analyzed: systolic (Vs), diastolic (Vd), mean (Vm) velocities, and pulsatiliy index from the affected (a) and unaffected (u) hemispheres.ResultsPIs obtained for both hemispheres were positively correlated with hematoma volume (aPI, r=0.43, P=.001; uPI, r=0.44, P=.001), volume of hypoattenuation (aPI r=0.64, P <.0001; uPI, r=0.39, P=.005), total volume (aPI, r=0.59, P <.0001; uPI, r=0.48, P <.0001), and midline shift (aPI, r=0.28, P=.04; uPI, r=0.29, P=.03). Both PIs were increased in patients with intraventricular hemorrhage (aPI, P=.01; uPI P=.004). No TCD parameter was correlated with ventricular size.ConclusionMost TCD parameters were correlated with CT data in the acute stage of ICH. An increase in PI probably reflects intracranial hypertension and mass effect. Further studies are needed to determine the clinical application of our findings.

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